Ok... lest any one has forgotten me... I am still above ground and kicking. However I am no longer hanging above ground. We bought a trailer which we will be bringing to the gathering. My wife is...
Type: Posts; User: Ramblinrev
Ok... lest any one has forgotten me... I am still above ground and kicking. However I am no longer hanging above ground. We bought a trailer which we will be bringing to the gathering. My wife is...
Embroidery can make a big difference. If you are doing satin stitch embroidry then you might have a valid point. Although I don't have a lot of experience in that. For the uninitiated, satin...
Note... use an old blunt needle for this because the paper card will burr the needle in no time flat. and don't worry about threading it. You won't need the thread to track the stitch line.
Welcome to the world of advanced sewing tricks. The question of locking the stitch line is somewhat ambiguous in many cases. First of all... using a lock stitch (standard machine stitch) the whole...
Yeah... this is my own paranoia. When ever I give measurements I expect there is someone out there reaching for their tape measure to "get it right". So I like to give eyeball solutions when...
That is exactly right which is why ball point needles on woven fabrics are a bad idea. They punch through instead of pierce through. You actually have this backwards. Ballpoints are made for...
You have generally the correct idea. Making a gather involves a few steps which may seem cumbersome, but are quite easy to accomplish once you understand them. First loosen the top tension a few...
The short answer is NO!. There is no relationship between the bobbin tension and the thread tension. They act totally independently. In general, the rule of thumb is don't mess with the bobbin...
IMO this is bassackwards. IME catcuts are put in place _because_ the tarp is low stretch. That means it is difficult to get a nice taut _quiet_ pitch because the tarp is going to be loose. No real...
This is an interesting technique. With no criticism intended it might be helpful to note some differences between quilting and most gear making. The biggest difference, beside stitch length is the...
you may be starting the stitch line too close to the edge of the fabric and finishing too close to the edge. Line the fabric up with the back of the presser foot when starting. A couple of stitches...
I believe they are a common bag on the Alaskan Iditerod Sled Dog race. Them folks have to know cold weather gear. I could be wrong about that. I can't remember my source for that factoide.
The idea of a differential cut is to make one layer of the fabric larger than the other. This introduces an air space between the two layers. This airspace keeps the insulation from getting...
This would result in cutting or abrading the rope lines. That would lead to catastrophic failure. Be glad there is only one hole.... :)
My recommendation is to line the edge of the fabric with the back of the presser foot. That's easier for me than trying to find a specific distance. A couple stitches forward, a few reverse and...
Does the hammock come with an optional restraining belt? If not, you might want to rethink your choice. Those spreader bar hammocks are known for tipping you out on your keister. It's not the...
Limited warranty to what degree? Not a machine I would choose, but some folks have had good luck with them.
Proper pinning will have little to no effect on the waterproof ness. You only pin the first pass, after that every thing is stable and won't slip around. Any holes you make will be folded into the...
My experience has been that half a sleeping bag is too narrow for an underquilt to provide good shoulder coverage. YMMV. I have always cut down the sides of the bag but never in half.
May be we need to have a minimum post number in order to buy from the forum. That gives a potential buyer a chance to familiarize themselves with the community and the ethos of the way things are...
For the most part any high quality polyester thread is fine. Avoid the big box stores like Walmart and such as they buy in huge quantities and thread has a shelf life. Stored properly, low light,...
Just a point of vocabulary useful to your google foo... a "hem" is found along the sides of the fabric. A hem is the bottom of a dress, or shirt or the edge of a tarp. It finishes off an edge. A...
I have a quivet hat... about $100 knit by a native cooperative. It is heavenly. If it was up to me.... and it is not.... I would sell the quivet fiber and buy three down quilts with the money...
IMO bed sheets do not make good hammocks. The issue for me is size. Bedsheets are comparatively small. I like starting with at least 144" and precious few bed sheets can be found that size. You...
Years ago TTTM was an active topic of discussion. They had their champions just like the rest. However, the choice and options were far more limited. I haven't compared sizes, but the Dutch...
If you look this up do NOT search for "blind stitch hem" as that will give you intructions for a whole different beastie and will confuse the daylights out of you. Blind stitching as a hand sewing...
+1 That was my thought as well. If the stress was in line with the seam you would likely break stitches instead of pull fabric. A larger stitch length would add to that problem as longer stitches...
Some people get along fine with the cheap Wally World machines. Not my first choice... but you already have it. Rather than drop a bunch of money on another machine, which won't do you any better...
One caution to consider... What do you use the machine for? If you are just making gear an old Singer like the 15 series is more than adequate even without a reverse. The workaround for no reverse...
Hate to break it to you... The ripstop grid is virtually pointless in terms of hammock use. Ripstop was designed for garments to briars and thorn bushes from tearing the fabric. Once you hang a...
Generally a pleat is a fold in the fabric that maintains it dimension for the length of the feature. Think a kilt. The pleats run the length of the fabric and generally are the same width all the...
A little fact that most people don't think about... Woven fabric has a space.... granted a small space, but a space nonetheless between every thread of the fabric. That's right... there is a hole at...
Start by setting the t-shirt scraps aside. They are knit and knits have their own foibles and quirks. You don't need to try and separate the fabric quirks from the machine quirks. Find yourself...
Try that reverse with a tarp in the machine doing a flat felled seam on the ridge. See my post above for a kinder, gentler method used by industrial stitchers for many decades. Spinning the fabric...
Crayon will work, or better yes wax markers for sewing. Try this out on scrap before you commit to the finished project, but those wax sewing items are made to melt under heat and melt away when...
Interesting to note that treadles are still being made today for the "Plain Folk" sects as well as those living off the gird in places like Alaska to mention just the US markets. Old technology that...
Treadles work fine for gear IF you can deal with the quirks. For example.. the is no reverse. That's not a major issue. Here's the work around. Stitch a few stitches and stop. Raise the presser...
xxl_ My comment was not intended to suggest you should be doing something else. Simply a matter of adding information that _others_ might find useful or helpful. I like #5 as well and this is my...
This may be a bit of an oversimplification. A #3 will have a much smaller turn radius if you need to go around corners. Trying to force a #5 around a tight turn or short radius arc will stress it...
coil zippers are sized by the width across the closed teeth in mm. So a #3 is 3 mm across and #5 is 5 mm across.
If the machine will handle the fabric I see no reason it should be a problem. The four thread overlock stitch is an industry standard in many products. I however... I must confess the construction...
rolled hem presser feet are a lively topic around here. Some folks (like me) see no point to the them and have never really gotten them to work successfully. Others say they work wonders and can't...
A felled seam is totally optional. If you chose to do just a quick and dirty stitch line just make sure your fabric won't fray out. Three ways you can do that.
Use coated fabric. PU coated...
Read the citation carefully.... that refers to the AT as it passes through State Game Lands. If it ain't AT camping is not allowed. So the exception is very limited.
The machine is worth whatever you think it is. and that's your prerogative. For me.... for a gear making machine, I'd opt for the service but that's my own bias coming through. In terms of full...
Like I said above... I use what I've got. I pay absolutely no attention to thickness numbers or any of that stuff. I use high quality thread, often what the wife has lying around and frequently...
"Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill?" You have no idea how deep this rabbit hole can go. There are folks who go to charts to match thread diameter with needle size dependent on fabric used. I...
The point in this hack is to keep the femoral arteries warm. The water bottle is not a space heater as such. Warming the femoral arteries keeps warm blood running to the feet and toes. I have...
There is no camping at all allowed in state game lands. I've heard varied reports about Ricketts Glen and their hammock policies. Soe have said they are ok with it. Others have said it is not...
I would suggest you take the machine to a repair shop for a good overhaul. The benefit of this is you can also get some advice on how to use it. You should not have needed to take the top off to...